The Eagle Ford Shale rig count stayed flat at 261 rigs running across our coverage area by the end of last week.
In recent Eagle Ford news, Texas is the largest producer of shale natural gas, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). From 2007 to 2013, shale gas production in Texas increased from 3 bcf/d to 11 bcf/d, with the majority of the shale gas produced coming from the Barnett, Eagle Ford, and Haynesville Shale formations.
Read more: EIA: Texas is Largest Producer of Shale Natural Gas
The U.S. rig count decreased by 3 to 1,920 rigs running by the end of last week. A total of 344 rigs were targeting natural gas (flat from the previous week) and 1,575 were targeting oil in the U.S. (three less than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 896 or ~48% of rigs active in the U.S. were running in Texas.
Baker Hughes rig count is quoted here. Baker Hughes also releases its own Eagle Ford Rig Count that covers the 14 core counties (206 rigs). The rig count published on EagleFordShale.com includes a 30 county area impacted by Eagle Ford development. A full list of the counties included can be found in the table near the bottom of this article.
Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Rigs
The natural gas rig increased by two to 18 rigs running by the end of last week. Average rig counts for natural gas production in 2012 were around 80 and then dropped to around 40 in 2013. Natural gas prices fell by ~$.30 from the previous week at $3.70/mmbtu on Friday afternoon.
The oil rig count decreased by nine to 243 rigs running by the end of last week. WTI oil prices increased by ~$3.00 from the previous week, trading at $64.33/bbl on Monday morning. Eagle Ford light crude traded at $62.65/bbl on December 5th.
A total of 245 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, six rigs are drilling directional wells, and 10 rigs are drilling vertical wells. Karnes, Dimmit, and DeWitt each have at minimum 27 rigs running. Dimmit County has the highest rig count this week at 35. See the full list below in the Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County below
South Texas Oil & Gas News:
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Eagle Ford Shale Drilling by County
What is the Rig Count?
The Eagle Ford Shale Rig Count is an index of the total number of oil & gas drilling rigs running across a 30 county area in South Texas. The South Texas rigs referred to in this article are for ALL drilling reported by Baker Hughes and not solely wells targeting the Eagle Ford formation. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count.